As you gear up for the New Year, maybe you’re thinking through another set of (dreadful) resolutions—lose weight, get out of debt, clean the garage, start a blog, and on they go. How about an alternative? Change the way you approach decision making in 2011, and avoid making and breaking New Year resolutions altogether. Here are 7 practical principles to help govern your decision making in 2011. Happy New Year!

It would make sense to announce the birth of the Messiah to students of His coming. It would make sense to proclaim His arrival to those who had the ability and authority to spread the news throughout the world. But God didn’t do that. He chose to entrust this magnificent news to a group of shepherds with no social standing and no voice in the community. Why?

We are so familiar with the Christmas story we’ve lost its shock factor. We see shepherd figurines in stores and front lawns, we sing about them, our children dress like them. We are confronted by the image of shepherds a hundred times each December. But do you reflect on why they are in the story?

Like the dripping of water over centuries, the persistent influence of charismatic theology over many decades seems to have whittled away and reshaped the evangelical commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture. Perhaps other forces are at work as well—secularism, consumerism, multi-culturalism—but modern evangelicals seem less willing to confine themselves to the 66 books of the canon...

“Love God and do as you please.” That famous quote from St. Augustine has far outlived its author, but not everyone views it favorably. Some see his bluntness as irresponsible, possibly dangerous. But Augustine has solid ground to stand on. Thousands of years earlier, another theologian by the name of David said this, “Delight Yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Both are true. Watch, as John MacArthur explains…

Pray, read your Bible, go to church, share the gospel, obey your parents. Recognize that list? It’s the answer you’re likely to get when asking the question—What does God want me to do? That centers on your actions, which is good…but what about your attitudes? Does God care about those?

Well, Thanksgiving came and went. Did your gratitude last beyond your afternoon nap? For many, that’s the extent of their thanksgiving—a one-time, get-it-out-of-the-way holiday that reminds them to reflect on how blessed they are. Too often and too quickly, people resort back to being ingrates. But God wills us to be thankful all the time, in all things. That’s His will. Are you following it?

When you strive to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, you will be persecuted, you will suffer. That’s a promise right out of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:12). And while history validates that truth, it also captures another tragic reality—you can mitigate your suffering for Christ with little or no effort. Just compromise. Here’s John MacArthur to explain…